How to Stay Healthy Without Burning Through Cash

How to Stay Healthy Without Burning Through Cash

How do you stay healthy without burning through cash? Today, we will explore how to rethink the way you see money and health.

Welcome to the 22nd FLA Guest Blog Post!

Thank you to Chelsea from Business POP for sharing this helpful article.

Chelsea is an experienced Marketing and Advertising professional with a demonstrated history of working in the media industry. Chelsea is especially skilled in Digital Media advertising, Events, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Microsoft Suite, Data Analytics, Adobe products, and Marketing Strategy.

The digital age has unquestionably arrived. Incorporating new technologies into business procedures will be critical for owners who want to grow their businesses.

Business POP will show you how to grow your business through innovation. It is aimed at small and medium-sized business owners and will offer advice on what digital enhancements to consider and how such changes can help them grow.

It’s easy to feel like being healthy means being broke. You scroll past gym selfies, organic meal boxes, and supplement stacks that cost more than rent, and somewhere along the way, it starts to seem like wellness is only for the wealthy. But that’s not real. You don’t need fancy gear, high-priced groceries, or boutique anything to feel better in your body. What you do need is a plan that isn’t built around marketing hype. Real health is quieter, cheaper, and way more doable than you think.

Take Advantage Of Work Programs

If your job offers any kind of health perks, it’s worth digging into the fine print—there’s usually more buried in those HR emails than most people realize. Workplace wellness programs often include things like subsidized gym memberships, reimbursement for fitness gear, mental health resources, or even HSA incentives that reward healthy behaviors.

Taking advantage of these benefits can cut costs on things you were already planning to pay for, like therapy, yoga, or annual checkups. Plus, when you use what’s available, you’re not just saving money—you’re also sending a message to your body (and your employer) that your health is worth prioritizing.

Rethink Your Professional Goals

If you’re running your own thing—whether that’s freelancing, consulting, or launching a side hustle—there’s a smart way to make that work for your health. Getting your business set up properly gives you more control, fewer surprises, and often more time to focus on things that matter, like exercise and sleep.

That’s where something like ZenBusiness LLC formation can come in. It simplifies the paperwork, clears the fog around taxes, and just makes it easier to operate like a grown-up. When your business life is cleaner, your personal life usually gets lighter too. That mental space? That’s worth more than any paycheck.

Professional Goals
Image Source: Colleagues via Pexels

Get Creative With Your Cleaners

Switching to DIY, chemical-free cleaners isn’t just a health choice—it’s a financial one, too. When you make your own sprays and scrubs with simple ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, and lemon, you skip the harsh additives and overpriced branding that come with store-bought products.

That means cleaner air in your home, fewer skin or respiratory irritations, and fewer dollars wasted on plastic bottles packed with synthetic junk. You’ll likely find that one small batch of homemade cleaner does the job of three store brands—and suddenly, keeping your space clean doesn’t feel like such a toxic or expensive chore.

Plan It So You Don’t Wing It

Weird thing about eating better? You don’t have to eat different stuff—you just need to think a few days ahead. The biggest budget killer isn’t expensive food, it’s spontaneous food. When you don’t have a plan, the easiest option usually ends up being the worst one, and also the most expensive.

People who swear by meal planning saves on groceries aren’t just organized—they’re saving money and time. Knowing what you’re eating this week means fewer takeout temptations and less wasted produce. It’s not sexy, but it works.

Skip The Drive

By choosing to walk or bike instead of driving, you’re turning your daily commute into a powerful wellness boost. This active commute boosts health by cutting your risk of hospitalization for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and mental health concerns by up to half. You also give your heart and lungs a workout, which improves circulation, lowers blood pressure and resting heart rate, and sharpens endurance over time.

On the mental side, active commuting reduces stress, enhances focus during the workday, and boosts your overall mood before you even clock in. Plus, those early steps or pedal strokes can increase your energy and clear your mind, making work feel less like work and more like part of your daily rhythm.

Skip The Drive
Image Source: Skip The Drive via Pexels

Staples That Never Let You Down

You don’t need a ten-page shopping list or a special trip to a health food store to stock your kitchen right. A few key items—stuff like canned salmon, frozen berries, lentils, and whole grains—are cheap, versatile, and seriously filling. Think about foods that stretch and don’t spoil fast.

These are the quiet heroes of every solid diet. Dietitians point to frozen fruits, legumes, and canned fish because they hit all the right notes: affordable, nutritious, easy to store. Make them your go-tos and skip the overpriced trends that don’t last longer than a TikTok loop.

Start a Garden

Growing your own food does more than fill your plate—it shifts your entire relationship with what you eat. You’re getting fresh vegetables and herbs right from the soil, often richer in nutrients than store-bought produce that’s been shipped and shelved for days.

It also shrinks your grocery bill in ways that add up fast—once seeds are in the ground, the return on that small investment pays out all season. Beyond money and vitamins, there’s also something powerful about the routine: tending a garden lowers stress, gets you moving, and brings a quiet kind of satisfaction that no grocery run ever will.

Work Out Without the Membership

Let’s be real—gyms are great, but they’re not essential. You can get fit in your living room, at the park, or anywhere else you can find five feet of space. And you don’t need the newest gear or a monthly fee. Bodyweight workouts, walking, stretching—it’s all exercise, even if it doesn’t come with a playlist or a smoothie bar.

You’ve got access to tons of free online workout videos available that can get you moving without charging a dime. The key isn’t having the right outfit—it’s just starting where you are.

Here’s what it comes down to: you don’t need more money, you need better habits. Most of the best things for your body don’t cost much—or anything at all.

Walking, home-cooked meals, sleep, connection, hydration, time outdoors—these are the building blocks. You don’t have to buy your way into a healthy lifestyle. You just have to take the pressure off and do what works for you, consistently.

Disclosure: Fresh Life Advice is an opinion-based website. I am not a financial advisor, and the opinions on this site should not be considered financial advice.

What are your thoughts on How to Stay Healthy Without Burning Through Cash? Let me know in the comments below.

Discover a fresh perspective on personal finance at Fresh Life Advice and unlock new insights for your financial success!

July Side Income Report | 2025

July 2025 Side Income

Welcome to the 2025 July Side Income Report.

Let’s start this post with the obligatory caveat:

FLA’s side hustle income reports are not for the purpose of bragging. This side income amount of money is by no means impressive. The sole purpose of this series is to inspire you to create diversified income streams in order to help you achieve your financial goals faster.

I began this tumultuous F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence – Retire Early) journey almost immediately after graduating from college and shortly realizing it is never ideal to work for someone other than yourself.

After withdrawing from the corporate world, I plan to fully indulge in my mission of helping 10 million people with their own path to financial freedom. I’ve discovered a wonderful community of people with shared mindsets. So I’m currently on a journey to see if we can turn FLA into a little business that supports the mission.

The reason I’ve decided to publish these income reports is because I want you to be a part of the journey.

After aggressively saving 50%+ of my annual income year after year, I’m approximately 43% of the way to retirement with 7 years to go. I’m aware that side hustles may never fully support one’s expenses, but I’m willing to try.

At the very minimum of making $1/month (what one may consider failure), I am ecstatic as I realize this can be considered supplemental income that will be able to be reinvested into this blog to enhance your reading experience on FLA.

Through my arduous journey, I’ve learned to focus on the future value of money. One dollar to you may look like a standard George Washington-faced bill, but to me, I see its potential.  Accounting for 3% inflation, investing that dollar could return 5 times its original value in 25 years. Yes, that’s like putting $1 into an ATM and having it return a $5 bill back to you. How amazing is compound interest?! Hypothetically, you can increase that principal amount, and you’ve got yourself some unbelievable returns.

My hope with these income reports is ultimately to present some transparency for you. By showing it doesn’t take much effort to earn and save, I may motivate you to chase one of your biggest dreams. Dreams may originally sound outlandish, but they all need to start somewhere, right? Without further ado, here is FLA’s July 2025 Side Income Report.

 

JULY SIDE INCOME REPORT

The best way to make money is to have various streams of revenue. The best way to protect yourself in the course of ill-fated events stripping you of some of your main sources of income is to diversify.

We have all heard the pragmatic advice of “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Well, put this theory into practice. The following is my best attempt to develop additional sources of income. Below are the six ways I attempted to make money from my side hustles in the month of July.

 

Stocks are my absolute favorite money-making assets. Your money can make money for you with the click of a ‘buy’ button! Sure, there are ups and downs in the stock market, but if you look historically at the S&P 500 Index or the Dow Jones Industrial Average, your investment generally grows over the long term. Remember, investing and gambling are not the same thing.

“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes.”

-Warren Buffett, American Investor/Business Tycoon/Philanthropist/Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

Investors and analysts contend that conducting research on which stock to buy may be active work, but it is a generally held credence that dividends are passive income.

What are dividends?

Simply, they are distribution of some of a company’s earnings to a class of its shareholders. In this case, you are the shareholder. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but the company you invest in will reward you with bonus money!

Let’s take a look at the aftermath of the stocks that paid out dividends this month:

July Side Income 2025 Stock Dividends

Which stocks have I invested in? I have a few individual stock picks, but the finance community knows this is a loser’s game. I mainly hold VTI, the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, which allows you to be diversified and capture 3,674 different stocks with a minimal expense ratio, or annual fee, of 0.03%. Index funds will often take you to the promised land in the long run.

Typically, you have 2 choices with dividends. You can either accept the dividend as cold hard cash or you can choose to reinvest the money back into the same stock automatically. It’s as simple as clicking the ‘yes’ button when prompted with the question on whether or not to re-invest dividends.

I strongly recommend you to reinvest your dividends and capital gains. Why? Well, look at this way: you didn’t have the earned dividend money to begin with. Do you really need it at this moment? Why not let your additional money grow even more? Open up an investment account and enjoy the magic of compounding interest by increasing your principal investment.

July Side Income – Stock Dividends / Interest Total: $354.42

 

In my free time, I participate in paid surveys. It’s one of my other sources of income. The surveys are mindless and allow you to temporarily escape from life’s struggles and reality. Oftentimes, you have a chance to play your part in society and provide meaningful feedback on hot topics that may be decided by top companies and government officials.

The 3 survey programs I use daily are:

  1. Prolific
  2. Pinecone Research
  3. YouGov

I strongly recommend any of these three survey websites because of the higher payouts. Our time on this planet is valuable. Always consider how much time you are trading for money.

Prolific

Prolific seems to have the highest quantity of surveys available. Each survey also previews an hourly rate to the user. This significantly helps in determining if the survey is worth your time. I’ve seen them range from $3/hour all the way up to $30/hour, but on average are $8/hour.

Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research surveys always reward you with $3 for every survey. Since each survey is typically around 10 minutes long, the site has a pretty standard hourly rate of $12/hour. However, the frequency of surveys is much less than Prolific.

YouGov

Finally, YouGov’s typical survey lasts for 10 minutes and will pay out $1.50, translating to an hourly rate of $6/hr. Even though it is the lowest payout, it still helps to have supplemental income. Again, always consider the balance between time and money.

YouGov is an eclectic group of the media, nonprofits and companies that congregate to find out what the world thinks. YouGov happens to be one of the most-quoted data sources in the US and across the world.

Prolific, Pinecone Research, and YouGov offer all kinds of rewards, but I normally recommend cash payout via PayPal. The transfer is usually instantaneous. Prolific does pay out in GBP, but the money is translated to USD when conducting a bank transfer in PayPal.

In fact, Prolific does not have a minimum payout, Pinecone’s minimum payout is $5, and YouGov’s minimum cash payout is $50, albeit YouGov offers the option of a $15 Amazon gift card.

July Side Income 2025 Survey Earnings

July Side Income 2025 Prolific Earnings

July Side Income 2025 Prolific Earnings Conversion

July Side Income 2025 Prolific Earnings Conversion 2

July Side Income – Surveys Total: $62.56

 

An additional passive income stream is selling your old goods or unused consumer products. Simply list your items with competitive pricing on Amazon and/or eBay, sit back, and let the buyers make you offers.

I often notice friends, family, and even co-workers constantly looking to throw out items that are still in perfectly good condition; it drives me nuts! Why not let someone bid on the product? Worst case will be that it doesn’t sell, and then you can throw out the item. No harm, no foul.

At the very least, donate your stuff. I typically enjoy donating old apparel to the Salvation Army and other charities. It always feels good to know your treasured clothing is not going to waste.

This month, there were no strangers that bought an item of my personal inventory I was looking to discard. After fees and small shipping costs, I usually still walk away with a hefty profit.

July Side Income 2025 Seller Earnings

July Side Income – Selling Total: $0.00

 

As a blogger, I would like to keep the user experience as clean as possible. Therefore, I have chosen to keep all Google AdSense ads from my website. I am an avid reader of many other blogs, and I can truthfully admit it retracts from the reading experience. I am very proud of this decision and will continue with this route.

July Side Income – Google AdSense Revenue: $0.00

 

I published my first eBook titled How I Launched, Marketed, and Promoted a High-Traffic Blog in Under 15 Days last year. I only promoted the book as part of the launch, but several people found their way to the sales page. Again, this is a learning process to convert the views into actual sales. As Robert Kiyosaki alludes to in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it’s all about being a best-selling author, not a best-writing author. There is a subtle yet significant difference.

July Side Income – eBook Blog Startup Manual Sales: $0.00

 

Who would’ve ever thought that spending money would actually earn you money? Well, with cash-back credit cards, now it’s certainly possible. With my Capital One Venture Card, I can now make this dream a reality.

Depending on the card you have, you’ll score 1-2 miles with every dollar you spend. Capital One Miles can be used in a variety of ways and are generally worth between half a cent and one cent apiece.

Earn 50,000 bonus miles (equivalent to $500) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

Although I’m still trying my best to limit opportunities to throw away those hard-earned paychecks, the positive result is that I earn more in cash back from the credit card rewards.

July Side Income 2025 Capital One Credit Card Cash Reward Cash Back

After looking at my monthly expense report, I saw that I earned 2,088 miles, which is equivalent to $20.88.

I now have a Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card.

Earn 80,000 bonus miles (equivalent to $1,000) once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

June Side Income 2022 Chase Sapphire Credit Card Bonus

When you use points to redeem for cash, each point is worth $.01 (one cent), which means that 100 points equals $1 in redemption value. Each point you redeem for travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards is worth $.0125 (one and a quarter cents), which means that 100 points equals $1.25 in redemption value, and points are worth 25% more than if redeemed for cash. For example, 20,000 points are worth $250 when redeemed for travel purchases, or $200 when redeemed for cash. The cost of travel is based on the rates and fares available through the Ultimate Rewards website and travel center, and may not reflect all rates and fares that are available through other sales channels.

If you choose to use points and your Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card to pay for your purchase, each point will be worth $.0125, but your credit card will be charged the full remaining dollar amount.July Side Income 2025 Chase Sapphire Credit Card Cash Back

After this month, I was able to earn $84.92 this month from the Chase card.

July Side Income – Capital One & Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card Cash-Back Rewards – $105.80

 

Well, that’s it for this month’s side income report! Hope your 2025 is going well.

In 2024, I was able to max out my Roth IRA and 401k – I highly recommend you do the same in 2025 if you have the option! In January, I immediately transferred the maximum $7,000 limit from my taxable brokerage account to the tax-deferred Roth IRA for the 2025 year, with most of it invested in January. The sooner, the better since time in the market often beats timing the market.

Investing is always a great plan. I strongly encourage you to continue dollar-cost averaging and buy stocks while tariffs temporarily hinder company earnings this year.

Thank you for taking the time to read through my latest July income report and thank you for contributing if you have previously purchased something through one of my affiliate links!

If you wish to support this site, but don’t have a need for any of FLA’s affiliate products, you could simply do your regular Amazon shopping through any of the links on this site that lead to Amazon.com. You won’t pay any extra and FLA will receive a small commission. Thanks so much if you do so!

That’s a wrap for this income report! I am looking forward to earning more money on the side in the future. Stay hustlin’, my friends!

July Side Income 2025 Summary

Total July Side Income: $522.78

 

How was your July 2025 side hustling? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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